Strategy Formation and Flexibility: A case study of H&M and KappAhl

The concept of strategy has existed for milleniums. It’s been present in many situations, one of those being in competitive business. Numerous theories have appeared so as to understand strategy formation. A couple of these are 2 schools of strategy formation, one concentrating on planning – the Positioning school, and the other emphasizing learning – the Learning school. These schools might also have an impact on the flexibility a company can enjoy. The objective of this investigation is to explore how companies perceive the formation of strategy and how this perception affects the company’s flexibility….

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Contents

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. BACKGROUND
1.2. PROBLEM DISCUSSION
1.3. PURPOSE
1.4. DELIMITATION
1.5. READER’S GUIDE
2. METHODOLOGY
2.1. QUALITATIVE STUDY
2.2. CASE STUDY
2.3. HYPOTHESIS
2.4. DEDUCTION
2.5. INTERVIEW
2.6. OUR APPROACH
2.6.1. Planning the study
2.6.2. Collecting data
2.6.2.1. Secondary sources
2.6.2.2. Primary sources
2.7. CRITICISM OF METHOD
3. FRAME OF REFERENCE
3.1. DEFINITION OF STRATEGY
3.1.1. The five Ps for strategy
3.2. EMERGENTNESS AND DELIBERATENESS
3.2.1. Deliberate
3.2.1.1. Reasons to support the deliberate perspective
3.2.1.2. Drawbacks
3.2.1.3. Important summarizing points of the deliberate perspective
3.2.2. Emergent
3.2.2.1. Reasons to support the emergent perspective
3.2.2.2. Drawbacks
3.2.2.3. Important summarizing points of the emergent perspective
3.2.3. Definitions of deliberate and emergent
3.3. THE POSITIONING AND LEARNING SCHOOLS
3.3.1. The positioning school
3.3.1.1. Origin
3.3.1.2. Analytical thinking and calculations
3.3.1.3. Role of the leader
3.3.1.4. The Five Forces – external search in a competitive market place
3.3.1.5. The Generic Strategies
3.3.1.6. Five summarizing points of the Positioning school
3.3.1.7. Critique
3.3.2. The Learning school
3.3.2.1.Origin
3.3.2.2. Learning over time
3.3.2.3. Trial-and-error
3.3.2.4. Role of the leader in a collective environment
3.3.2.5. Logical Incrementalism
3.3.2.6. Four summarizing points of the Learning school
3.3.2.7. Critique
3.3.3. Summarizing guidelines for the Positioning school and the Learning school
4. EMPIRICAL STUDIES
4.1. HENNES & MAURITZ AB
4.1.1. History and facts
4.1.2. Strategy
4.1.3. Informal/Formal
4.1.4. Role of Management
4.1.5. Origin of ideas
4.1.6. Analysis
4.1.7. Low cost
4.1.8. Experimentation
4.1.8.1. Historical view
4.1.8.2. Purchase-level
4.1.8.3. Store-level
4.1.9. The flexibility issue
4.1.9.1. Unexpected events
4.1.9.2. Country expansion
4.1.9.3. Purchasing flexibility
4.1.9.4. Financial and organizational flexibility
4.2. KAPPAHL
4.2.1. History and Facts
4.2.2. Strategy
4.2.3. Informal/Formal
4.2.4. Role of Management
4.2.5. Origin of ideas
4.2.6. Analysis
4.2.7. Differentiation
4.2.8. Experimentation
4.2.9. The flexiblity issue
5. ANALYSIS
5.1. VIEW ON STRATEGY FORMATION
5.1.1. The Positioning school
5.1.1.1. Analytical thinking and calculations
5.1.1.2. The CEO is the strategy architect
5.1.1.3. External competitive factors – The Five Forces
5.1.1.4. The Generic Strategies
5.1.2. The Learning school
5.1.2.1. Learning over time
5.1.2.2. Trial-and-error
5.1.2.3. Collective Learning
5.1.2.4. Logical incrementalism
5.1.3. H&M’s view on strategy formation
5.1.4. KappAhl’s view on strategy formation
5.2. FLEXIBILITY….

Source: Linköping University

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